Cinnamon Rolls

A small corner of cinnamon roll’s famous franchise opened in a supermarket near my house. I used to watch the process of them being prepared and baked very closely as it was all new to me. This story goes back like 7-8 years by the way. My son became very fond of those freshly baked, warm and fluffy buns. I searched the internet, found a recipe that I liked… tried it, modified it and got my son’s approval!! Wasn’t all that easy I tell you. I was up against a brand name after all. Lucky me they were not aware of this one sided competition.

Working with yeasted dough is different. Yeast requires specific temperature, sugar, hydration and warm conditions to multiply. Milk/water that we add to dissolve yeast should be lukewarm. Bring other ingredients, like eggs, flour or butter to room temperature. Add salt in the end. The process of yeast multiplying and growing is called “proofing”. It makes dough rise and get soft and airy. It is recommended to proof yeast dough twice. It will give nice smooth textured product and mellow yeast flavour.

I prefer cream cheese frosting and not the sugar glaze. If you don’t like cream cheese (seriously? I don’t believe you!) you can try mixing icing sugar with very little milk and drizzle it over warm buns/rolls.

ingredients: (yields 16 large rolls)

for dough:

2 tsp instant yeast

1/2 cup caster sugar ( simply grind granulated sugar)

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup melted margarine

2 eggs, at room temperature

4 1/2 – 5 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

for filling:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup softened margarine

2 1/2 tbsp powdered cinnamon

for icing:

1/4 cup cream cheese or 4 pieces of “triangle” cheese

1/4 cup softened margarine

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp good quality vanilla essence

method:

In a large bowl mix yeast, sugar and warm milk. Stir well. Add melted margarine and eggs and beat for a minute. Add 4 cups of flour and knead. Gradually add remaining flour and knead remaining flour. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Shape into a ball, cover and keep in a warm place for at least 90 minutes. No peeking please! Give it some privacy.

Mix together the filling ingredients. When the dough is ready, divide it into two equal parts and roll out one of them roughly into a 12 x 9 rectangle and spread half of the filling. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces. Repeat the rolling, spreading, shaping and cutting with the second half of the dough. Arrange the rolls on a greased, oven proof dish (preferably pyrex), giving approximately an inch of space between them. Loosely cover and give them another 30 minutes of proofing. Preheat the oven at 180 degree celcius. Bake on medium rack for 25 – 35 minutes till golden brown.

When the rolls are baking, make icing. Beat together cream cheese and margarine. Add vanilla essence and icing sugar. Beat well to get smooth icing. When the rolls are done and out of the oven, spread generously with the icing. Serve warm. You can add nuts, raisins or chocolate chips for variations. Or drizzle with chocolate syrup or caramel sauce. I prefer my rolls neat!